Saturday, 31 May 2008

Describing a Cool City

Since the start of the industrial revolution, human's life began to change by time to time which helps them to have easy life or in the other word it give to them a health and happiness. In fact the world is crossing to another way, our earth has benefited from this industrial revolution, but it has a pollution which helps to destroy our planet by causing global warming. All human activities are producing CO2 which is the main source to make an climate change.

If we don't solve these problems which we made it by our hands, so our earth will be in the danger zone while if we doing something to change or to decline the percentage of carbon footprint. In addition, there were some people who try to let people aware about this situation. By the year, they have taken up challenge and created a new technique to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide by building a Cool City where everything is eco-friendly to our environment.

This type of city will help to decrease the percent of CO2. Because of their building are build from green and all types of equipment or life stuff is green, which is friendly for the earth. Moreover, there will be three types of transportation there friendly to our planet for instant solar ships, light rail transit and hybrid cars. Over all, it will help to reduce the amount of electricity, waste and water. In other words, it helps to save our money and energy.

All in all, these cities are the best solution to save our earth and to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide and it also will affects for all who have carbon footprint on this earth which will rise the pollution in the future.

Living in Masdar city

Would you like to live in Masdar City? Why?
Of Course I want to live there, who would like to live there, a healthy life and safe.

- Why!! There all thing which we need to live without damaging our environment and I will be one of the people whom wants to change his lifestyle to safe his earth from pollution and to reduce the amount of carbon footprint. In fact, the best thing I like about the city in that I can walk in the city without feeling hot. They will create a green system as an air condition to give the city cool air.



One Planet Living


Visit http://www.oneplanetliving.org/

If everyone lived like an average North American we would need five planets.

If everyone lived like an average European we would need three planets.

If everyone lived like an average Emirati we would need eleven planets.

Our global footprint grew by 150% between 1961 and 2003. It is now 25% above the planet's biological capacity to support life on earth.

The WWF has developed an initiative called One Planet Living. It has ten guiding principles.

Masdar is going to be developed using these principles.

Explain the ten guiding principles using your own words.
1- Zero Carbon: create things which are not produce CO2.
2- Zero Waste: all types of waste can be reusable.
3- Sustainable transport: Changing all kind of cars to hybrid vehicles, but the plane we have to decrease our traveling by it.
4- Local and Sustainable Materials: less import the materials from outside.
5- Local and Sustainable Food: trying to get their food from their land without importing from others countries, especially those far away from us.
6- Sustainable water: The freshwater supply must be easy to find and enough for the city.
7- Natural Habitats and Wildlife: Trying to protect the environment and preserve the wildlife, will help to overcome the environmental change and maintain the environmental resources
8- Culture and Heritage: Anyone who isn’t saves his cultures and history of his people, land and countries; he will not have a clear future.
9- Equity and Fair-trade: all people whose lives inside the city must be in same level or they have to live into two levels, one for riches people and the other is for medium levels people.
10- Health and Happiness: Of course any one need to be healthy and happiness by taking time to relax and having enough time with his family.
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Which principles do you think will be difficult for Masdar City to maintain?
1- Local and Sustainable Materials.
2- Local and Sustainable Food.

What are the three goals of the One Planet Living programme?
1- Build a world-wide network of One Planet Living Communities and other exemplary projects to demonstrate One Planet Living in action.
2- Establish One Planet Living Centres in each One Planet Living community as a focus for education.
3- Promote the imperative for One Planet Living and its guiding principles to catalyse change with governments, business and individuals.

Masdar is one of the Emerging One Planet communities, where are the others?
Panyu Jinshan in China, Sibaya in South Africa, OPL London in UK, Montreal.

Where are the Officially Endorsed One Planet Communities?
One Gallions in UK, Sonoma Mountain Village in Canada & USA, Mata de Sesimbra.

Friday, 30 May 2008

American Cool Cities



Charlotte North Carolina: The government has changed the fuel of cars to a hybrid gas.







Washington DC: Has changed their buses to natural gas which is less than the diesel fuel to improve air pollution and cut global warming pollution.









St Paul Minnesota: Providing electricity by using a renewable resource as its primary fuel.




Houston – Texas: The government has started to reduce emissions by using hybrid vehicles. By the year 2010 they will have no petrol cars. Hybrid vehicles are produce about 43 tones of carbon less than the average of other cars.








Seattle: They have replaced old vehicles with a “ clean and Green fleet and have sett strict rules about CO2 emission. They have already reduced green house gases by 60 percent.






Fort Collins: Fort Collins uses renewable energy wind to reduce global warming and has reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 472,000 tons.






Waverly Lowa: Waverly Lowa municipality has used wind energy to reduce the emission of CO2 in the city. This method who helps provide local economic development.







Marion County Florida: The government bought the Toyota Privs vehicles because it’s hybrid and useless oil.










Thursday, 15 May 2008

Carbon Footprint


A carbon footprint is a measure of the impact human activities have on the environment in terms of the amount of green house gases produced, measure in units of carbon dioxide (CO2). The idea of a carbon footprint that a humans are responsible for polluting the earth, because their energy produce has amount of carbon dioxide which release into atmosphere. However, there are two useful websites to measure a carbon footprint from:
http://footprint.wwf.org.uk and other www.myfootprint.org. For the first website, my footprint score is 3.59 planets. This score indicates that I'm on the wrong track!! But this indication is reflected to UK average. For the second website, I was even worse which I didn't expect at all, my footprint score is 12.00!! My scores were poor for housing, goods and services (buying too many news things and wasting huge amount of services such as electricity and water).

There are some footprint problems from Housing Footprint, it describes that I'm poor in wasting water and electricity for saving energy. In fact all types of electronic and electricity equipment, parts are very cheap and it available in any shops or market. Also, Food Footprint, it describes that eating a lot and depending on restaurant is not a proper solution and most of our food it imported from different countries. Finally, Carbon Footprint describes the use of personal transportation that contributes to atmospheric pollution that because I have six car (3 mini cars and 3 large cars).

Now to solutions, the good thing that those websites provide solutions to reduce the footprint which encourages me to aware more about myself and teach others for a better life. However, the solution will be from my perspective. At first, I will try to search to find the green electricity which is friend with environment, but for wasting water I will try to control myself to reduce much water. The second problem is to stop eating fast food and buying imported food, replace it by buying local products. In addition, my country have many of factories and farms, so why not to change and trying to buy our local goods. Finally, which need from us to work hard to change our lifestyle by reducing cars, in fact this is not problem, but reduce the number of car is very difficult. Because each one in my house has his own car and we are live away from the city, so I and my brothers decided to share one car to go to work which could may help to reduce our carbon footprint.

In conclusion, the carbon footprint calculator is a good example of getting new information of carbon footprint. I've realized that it is very important for any human being is to change their habits and starting to be aware from new things. Hopefully for every human kind is to encourage and spread this knowledge in order to reduce the carbon footprint and global warming in the near future.

Conversaetion about Global Warming

PhotoStory: Global Warming

An inconvenient Truth

An inconvenient Truth: Summary

An inconvenient truth it’s a new documentary film which is talking about the global warming and how it affects our earth. The director speech of this film was Al Gore whose shows the film with several methods; I mean he shows in funny way and another sad and frightening. However, this film showing how human activities are played with this series crisis. Really, Al Gore shows us that all kind of our lifestyle can be a source for this problem, so he wants to let a people aware about it. Moreover, he asks people, government and countries to moves and doing something to reduce that polluted which may destroy our health without any hesitation. In fact he showing and tells us how we are selfish and didn’t thinking about our earth. In addition, the film shows us how will be our earth after ten years from now, it will be very horrible for human to life. On the other word, we have to change our lifestyle and put a new strategy to reduce the limited of this crisis, also to prevent destroying our earth in the future. Anyway, see the film and be honest with yourself to put your judging.
My reaction with An inconvenient Truth movies:

This film is impact me too much. Because it made me to think a hundred times and made me too shy as one of the human whose lives on this beautiful planet. Unfortunately, we didn’t used our mind probably to think clearly with our lifestyles which are the major reason for this situation, because we are very selfish with our planet, we just thinking only for ourselves. In fact there is a possible to restore for what we have done, so there is a chance to correct our mistakes by peoples, governments and countries. They have to works together to reduce the level of pollution from their industries and their lifestyles.

Why it is called An inconvenient Truth?
Because this thing could cost or makes the whole world change their lifestyles and livelihoods, which mean change the model of their lives, but States, Governments and traders do not want that. However, they do not want to believe, and or even think about it this great catastrophe that may happen to our planet Earth.


Now our country must to do something about this situation, but before anything how could they control and let their people be aware about it. I believe if the government changes or adds some subjects with KG, primary and secondary school, to teach our child about this situation, so it will effect with their behavior which they will take home to their parents and talk about that. I’m sure when their sons are insisting on the issue; they are trying to change their parent’s life style. It will let them to think why all this fuss about the situation, so it will let them to think and get some information about it. That’s why I believe the best way to change the course of your life is the impact on children where they will change the model sooner or later.

Introduction: Cool City



Cool cities are one of the main steps which most countries want to do to reduce the amount of pollution. These cities will not accept any kind of equipment, electricity, electronic and transporting which helps to affects our planet. In the other words, they will not allow them to enter to this city, except eco-friendly to our environment and doesn’t produce carbon dioxide. Above all nations that are thinking and applying their plan for cool cities, that means they are one of the developed countries, and civilized, which will have a big mark on the whole world.

Critical Thinking